Research Successful, Awaken the Sharingan!

Konoha.

After many days, Minamoto Takuya once again set foot on the roads of Konoha.

This time, he had followed Minato Namikaze's request and stayed outside a while longer.

Although Minato Namikaze had wanted him to rest longer, he had not been idle for a moment while he was away.

"Hokage Lord, mission complete."

"Senior, it's been a long time." Minato Namikaze was taken aback when he saw Minamoto Takuya, then chuckled.

"These are local specialties I brought you from the Land of Rivers." Minamoto Takuya took out several items and handed them to Minato Namikaze.

"You're too courteous, Senior." Minato Namikaze smiled. The items were not particularly valuable, but they represented the other man's thoughtfulness.

"Then I'll head back to the Sealing Team first." Minamoto Takuya set down the items and prepared to leave.

"Won't you rest after just finishing a mission?" Minato Namikaze was startled.

"No need. I rested while I was outside." Minamoto Takuya had already left the Hokage Office as he spoke.

Minato Namikaze watched his back and shook his head with a smile. He set the specialties aside to take home after work. Kushina would probably like them. As for him... he had to continue working.

The Hokage had plenty of affairs to handle.

After Minamoto Takuya returned to the Sealing Team, many team members greeted him and reported on what had happened while he was away.

Overall, just as Minamoto Takuya had expected, this year should be relatively peaceful. Nothing major had happened, and there were no signs of the barrier-type seals being broken.

Minamoto Takuya stretched lazily, then resumed researching that combined Sealing Jutsu.

He had reached the final stage. He needed to finish researching it as soon as possible!

Two months later.

Minamoto Takuya looked at the jutsu formula in his hand, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

At last, after lowering the difficulty, he had successfully developed this set of Sealing Jutsu.

However, its exact effects still needed to be tested.

His last mission had been two months ago. Taking another mission now would be perfectly normal.

So, the next day, Minamoto Takuya accepted a mission from Minato Namikaze and left Konoha.

As for why it was the next day, naturally, the mission he wanted also required his subordinates to send it to Konoha, which took some time.

In fact, those missions were sometimes claimed by others ahead of time. When that happened, they simply became ordinary missions, and even the ninja carrying them out generally would not notice anything unusual.

After leaving Konoha, Minamoto Takuya did not head to the Experiment Base immediately.

There were still some materials in the cultivation tanks there, but they were running low. He needed to capture more.

Besides, fresher materials were better for testing this combined Sealing Jutsu.

After locating those materials—bandits who had claimed remote mountain peaks as their territory—through his subordinates' channels, Minamoto Takuya wasted no words and packed them up one by one.

Inside the Experiment Base.

Minamoto Takuya looked at an experimental chamber.

The chamber was covered in inscriptions. This was the combined Sealing Jutsu he had carved into it.

It included a Memory Seal, the creation of illusions based on implanted memories, and automatic deduction for blank intervals. The deductions might be somewhat artificial, but they should be sufficient.

At that moment, someone inside the experimental chamber had already fallen into an illusion.

The flow of time within an illusion was beyond comparison with reality. Tsukuyomi, the strongest Genjutsu, had tortured Kakashi Hatake for three whole days within an illusion in a single instant—and that might not even have been Tsukuyomi's limit.

Minamoto Takuya's Genjutsu naturally could not compare to Tsukuyomi, but it was enough for his purposes.

Soon, the illusion ended. The material in the experimental chamber opened his eyes in confusion. When he saw Minamoto Takuya, his eyes lit up as though a dog had seen its master. Then he dropped to all fours and crawled continuously around Minamoto Takuya, behaving exactly like a tamed dog.

Minamoto Takuya watched his reaction. The man had not originally been a dog. In the original formula, the Memory Seal would be released immediately after the illusion ended, but since this was an experiment, he needed to see how effective the illusion was.

The man's original memories were now completely sealed. The only memories he possessed were those of being a dog.

Judging from this reaction, it had succeeded.

Minamoto Takuya nodded, then pressed one hand to the man's forehead and released his Memory Seal.

At that moment, the man revealed a confused expression. He looked at Minamoto Takuya with both fear and affection in his eyes.

The fear came from his previous memories, while the affection came from the memories of being a dog.

However, fear ultimately gained the upper hand. The man tried to flee, only for Minamoto Takuya to capture him directly and throw him into a cultivation tank.

Minamoto Takuya was not surprised. After all, an additional memory had been inserted. Even if that memory seemed somewhat fake compared to the original memories, it would still impact them.

If it was especially severe, it might even result in a split personality.

If the memories within the illusion differed too greatly from reality, they could form a new personality.

Minamoto Takuya had anticipated this side effect long ago, but gaining something always came with risks.

He could not possibly awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan without paying anything, could he?

He wanted to, of course, but that was obviously unrealistic.

Afterward, Minamoto Takuya conducted several more experiments. He also changed the Memory Seal in the formula so that it would be released immediately after the illusion ended, then conducted several more tests.

Some emerged timid as mice, while others emerged believing themselves supreme above heaven and earth. The result was... the cultivation methods and jutsu formulas within the illusion were naturally all fake.

They could only be used within the illusion.

Once he confirmed that its effects had basically met his requirements,

Minamoto Takuya created a Shadow Clone to keep watch outside. Then he pressed his hand against the formula on the outside of the experimental chamber, inputting chakra while also feeding in the memories he wanted to simulate.

Afterward, he entered the experimental chamber, closed his eyes, and lay down inside.

Then the formula activated. Countless inscriptions poured into Minamoto Takuya's body, while the Memory Seal entered his mind.

The Shadow Clone watched from outside as everything proceeded just as it had during the previous experiments, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was not impossible for every previous experiment to succeed, only for it to fail when it came to him.

All that remained was to wait for the original body to awaken. He knew that the memories his original body had simulated were likely those of Sasuke Uchiha, mainly the night of the clan massacre and his 'love-hate entanglement' with Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke Uchiha had successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the memories concerning him were relatively complete. Hopefully, they would aid the Sharingan's evolution.

He could also sense that his original body's chakra truly seemed to be gathering in his eyes...

After some time, Minamoto Takuya in the experimental chamber slowly opened his eyes, revealing those Sharingan.